The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-01-02


me anything if it was on a gold platter. u
It IS barely possible that Mr..
Maginnis expressed himself Just
in that manner. The residents of
the Territories are bitterly opposed
to the appointment of men to such po-
sitiCns as governors OF territories who
have never resided day in any of the
territories, nor have ever been, in the
remotest degree, identified with any OF
their interests. All such appointments
are in violation of plank of the plat
form upon which the President was
elected.
Talking with Congressman Wood
burn, of Nevada. the other evening, he
gave it as his opinion that William NJ.
Stewart will return to the United States
Senate, in Fairs place. Mr.. Stewart.
Ii seems, wants to have the State of
Nevada enlarged, by the annexation of
Idaho Territory, or so much thereof as
would naturally fail to Washington in
case the territorial organization of
Idaho should be broken up. In his
speeches during the canvass, Stewart
advocated his scheme. 1t is said to
have supporters in Idaho, as we'll as
Nevada. Some Idaho men, however,
do not want TO be linked TO state the
population of which does not increase.
In 1880 the population of Nevada was
81 256, an increase of less than $4,000 in
ten years, while the population Of
Idaho increased from is 900 in 1870 to
early SO 900 in 1880. Nevada contains
an area OF ITO, 700 square miles. II the
whols of Idaho should be aided the
State would contain an area of 1876 500
square miles, or 10000 square miles less
rra-aS OH no
miles more than California. Last sum-
mer, l remember. long article ap-
peared in the New York Sun, dated from
Salt Lake City, in regard to some grand
scheme looking to the annexation
UtaG to the State of Nevada. Mr..
Stewart doesn't seem to have heard of
that scheme. But. after all, the article
in question was doubtless only one of
the sensational kind that every now
and then appears n reference to Utah
paid for at the rate of about So or So a
column.
a great deal of the news sent out in
reference to Utah, as is Well-known, Is
utterly untrustWorthy, and much of ii
utterly untrue. As an example. | re-
produce the following from the New
York Herald:
NONCI 1hlNO -IOCl MAE
THEY MAKE APPARENT LARGE GAINS IN
SALES BY PAYING DEBTS WITH STAMPS.
FIR M our regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON, December %, 1SS6.-The
Post Office Departm has received infOr-
nation of a conspiracy among q number OF
Postmasters in Utah to increase their salaries
by a novel device. They have been making
acquisitions for large supplies of stamps and
reporting CORE. ponIing cancellations from
-, = cAp haN- haa caI
largely in paying their personal expenses,
and those thus expended are reported as
cancelled at their offices. Enough post
masters Of a certain section Were IN the
conspiracy to prevent one from being a
check upon the others, and so the matte
discovery OF the plan, that the government
has suffered to the extent OF from $50, coo TO
$4,000
Anxious to fud out the truth in re-
gard to this matter, called upon a
gentleman who occupies position in
the Third Assistant Postmaster
Generals Office, and who, from the
nature of his daily work, would be able
to give me some information W on the
subject. Having read the above dis
patch, he said: G-All there is in it is
this: Postmasters throughout the
whole country, especially those of
the fourtn-class, located in small
towns, have been discovered, in many
instances, TO have made acquisitions for
large supplies of stamps and reporting
corresponding cancellations from their
offices. Some of the postmasters of
Utah, in the country towns OF course,
are included in this number; but to say
that there is, Or has been, conspiracy
among them, is perfectly preposterous.
The fact is, from Investigations which
haze been going on for some time in the
PosLotfice Department, 1t has been
discovered that in every State and Ter
rltory of the Union, among the fourth
class postmasters, the practice to which
this dispatch alludes has been quite
common. In some cases parties have
carried it on, knowing they were break
ing the law. In other cases it has been
done in ignorance OF the law. The state
ment that the postmasters OF Utah
have defrtu led the government to the
extent of from $4,000 to $40 1000 is
entirely untrue; for this reason, the
whole amount yet discovered to have
been unlawfuIly got away with in this
manner n all the country does not
reach $4,000 Now, it cannot De sup
posed that the Utah postmasteGs
have got away with half Of the
whole amount. Outside OF case Of
another nature in Utah, $1,000 or
$4,000, should say, will cover that Ter
ritory infringement of the law in this
respect, and many of the postmasters
may have done it in ignorance"
Speaking with another gentleman
upon this subject, he said: There is
nothing new in that. Postmasters for
merry were paid by the amount OF the
stamps sold. 1 recoHect a case that
happened in small town out west. The
postmaster kept a general country
Store. aad his brother peddled goods for
him throughout the surrounding coun-
try. Ii order to increase the sale OF
stamps, and thereby his commissions,
he supplied the peddler with postage
stamps of the various denominations,
which he gave out in change, and there
by ranthe postofice up from, say, 500
to $500 or S6OO.a year. This sort OF thing
became So prevalent in fourth-elsss
postofices that he P5stofhceDepartme't
finally dropped on it and induced Con-
gress to change the method of COM
lpensating postmasters of that class, SO
that Instead of being paid by means. of
the sails OF stamps their pay
| is now regulated by the mum
her of stamps cancelled IN